NL ROY Futures Betting: Kodai Senga Has the Edge Over Class

Pitchers have an excellent track record of taking home Rookie of the Year honors. Since 2009, nine hurlers have taken home the hardware across both leagues. This year is shaping up to be no different in the National League, with several highly touted players expected to deliver in 2023. 

Standing above the rest is New York Mets sensation Kodai Senga, who has delivered exceptional results early. We’re betting that trend continues throughout the campaign and are backing Senga as the NL ROY at FanDuel Sportsbook.

This NL under-the-radar pick for MVP has a juicy price tag

Arguably, Senga has a leg up on the rest of this year’s rookie class. The 30-year-old spent the past 11 seasons playing in Japan’s highest professional league, the NPB. ‘Playing’ is underselling it, as Senga dominated his competition throughout his career. 

Across those 11 seasons, the Japanese national accumulated a 2.59 ERA with 1252 strikeouts and an 87-44 record. Senga has maintained that standard early this year, compiling a perfect 2-0 record to being his major league career with a sparkling 1.59 ERA and 14 Ks across 11.1 innings pitched in his first two starts.

Senga has already captured the attention of everyone with his elusive “ghost forkball.” Effectively a forkball with exaggerated movement, Senga has devastated batters with his never-before-seen pitch. He’s inducing a 60.0% whiff rate and turning to it as his put-away offering. In combination with his 97 mph 4-seamer, Senga has been virtually unhittable, allowing just six hits in those first pair of appearances. 

The 30-year-old had his first rough outing of the year, taking a loss in Oakland last Friday, but consider that a blip on the ROY radar.

Several highly touted Japanese players have stepped into the MLB and succeeded. Senga could put himself among Shohei Ohtani, Ichiro Suzuki, and Kazuhiro Sasaki, becoming the latest professional to travel overseas and take home the Rookie of the Year trophy.

Top 5 NL Rookie of the Year Odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.